Batman Arkham City Stories - Johnny Verghese
by OwenSaunders98
Summary: This story is set inside the walls of Arkham City and just hours after the events of Batman: Arkham City's main story. This tale follows inmate Johnny Verghese as he waits in the shadows to make his move and become a world famous murderer. And high in the skies the World's greatest detective is there to stop him... but it's all part of the big plan.
1. 1 - Temporary Lodgings

**Arkham** **City Story - Johnny Verghese**

**1 - Temporary lodgings**

**Johnny Verghese looked out of the window of the old abandoned strip club. It's neon lights still flashed outside saying "real nudes". Johnny had never found the light box to switch the lights off. It wasn't that he hadn't had the time, in fact he'd had too much time really, it was just he spent most of it sitting in the dark waiting to make his move.**

**Johnny wasn't a bad man. Of course, he'd had to do bad things in order to be placed in a maximum security prison. Well, when he thought about it, Johnny looked back and remembered that he hadn't just done a bad thing or two, he'd done terrible deeds, committed awful crimes, but it was all part of Johnny's plan.**

**Outside, a shadowy figure rushed across the sky in a flash of darkness. A pleasing chill ran up Johnny's spine.**

**Batman.**

**Why was he even here? How did Batman end up in Arkham City? He wouldn't do anything wrong. He would commit no crime. Not like Johnny had. There was a reason the caped crusader was here.**

**The infamous Joker. That was why Batman had been in Arkham Asylum. It was always Joker. His arch-nemesis. The centre of the plot, the criminal at the middle of all the evil.**

**Johnny didn't have a costume. Unless you counted a dirty orange jumpsuit as a villainous outfit. Nor did Johnny have a name. Well, apart from Johnny Verghese, he had no real identity. No crime he'd committed hadn't been done by someone else. Johnny was just a petty criminal. Nothing more.**

**But he wanted more. All he'd ever wanted was recognition. And all he'd ever been any good at was being bad.**

**So when he put two and two together on that fateful day nine years ago, there was no going back. He would only get what he wanted by doing what he was good at. Like everyone.**

**Johnny laughed as he recalled a time in a recruitment agency when the woman opposite him had asked: "so, what are you good at doing. Do you have any talents. I'm sure there's a job for whatever you can do... You must be able to do something..."**

**She never really got a real answer because Johnny had shot her point blank in the chest. **

**He'd then said, "Killing."**

**He left the building and escaped without even having to run.**

**But there was one time Johnny remembered fondly. His first kill.**

**Oh, it was perfect. The perfect night for the perfect crime.**


	2. 2 - The Beginning of a New Life

**2 - The beginning of a new life**

**A storm had been brewing for at least three days when it finally broke through the clouds and spat down with rain and cut through the air with wind and cold. **

**There was even lighting at this point. In the early hours of the morning, on a Wednesday, Johnny had been spending his money gambling in The Iceberg Lounge, when he made a wrong move and lost all of his money. Infuriated, Johnny had demanded another game but for all of his money back if he won, and if he lost, his house and car would be the cost.**

**This gamble seemed ludicrous, but the tables turned and the ball landed on Johnny's lucky number, 23.**

**He'd won. He kept his car and house and all of his money.**

**Grinning, Johnny left the Iceberg Lounge and proceeded to his car.**

**But his foolish opponent had followed him.**

**Johnny took out his car keys and as he went to press his finger onto the unlock button, his legs were taken from under him. The chips he'd won that night spilled out onto the streets. Three other men scrambled on the wet road collecting them and dumping them into a large bag.**

**The sour face of Johnny's enemy appeared before his eyes. And then a fist got in the way, sending Johnny's head spinning. He could hear a horrible, ear piercing screeching coming from the direction of the car then realised he didn't have his keys anymore.**

**Smashing sounds followed and as Johnny's vision cleared and his head had starting to throb even more. He could see his car, tattered and scratched, windows smashed and bonnet twisted, the hood hanging off.**

**Despair replaced itself with anger and fear transformed to hatred.**

**Scrambling up off the wet, cold ground, Johnny decided it was time to do what he was always meant to do.**

**There was no weapon for Johnny to use. Only his fists. Outnumbered and injured, Johnny knew he had no chance without a weapon, at least not yet.**

**A pipe. It lay on the ground in the dirty alley ahead. Johnny's eyes narrowed with determination and he stumbled over to the rusty weapon.**

**"He's up!" Johnny heard a man yell. There was angry grunting as the man who'd attacked him ran over, stumbling drunkly.**

**The pipe was within Johnny's reach, but Johnny was in reach of his enemy too. That's when he dropped. Quite deliberately. Johnny hadn't drank much so he was more aware of his surroundings than his opponent.**

**Johnny tucked into a ball shape on the ground and his enemy toppled over the top of him clumsily. There was a smack and a splash ahead as the man landed in a puddle. Now was Johnny's chance!**

**He could hear the splashes as the three others came to their ally's aid.**

**Johnny grabbed the pipe and with fear removed and adrenaline pumping through him, he ran.**

**The pipe swung, hitting the first enemy in the neck, only missing his shoulder by centimetres.**

**The man yelped and dropped. Two more.**

**The pipe was in Johnny's firm grip when the second man came at him. These men were only used to bar fights, they didn't know how to dodge a metal bar.**

**Johnny went low, hitting the pipe into the man's left ribs. He screamed and his legs buckled beneath him.**

**The third enemy came on strong, grabbing the pipe and throwing it to the ground, taking Johnny with it.**

**The bar pressed against Johnny's throat as he lay, his opponent on top of him.**

**Johnny struggled in vain; this man was strong.**

**The first man was clambering to his feet, holding his neck and cursing. The leader of them was also getting up from his nice little spot in the dirty puddle.**

**Johnny then realised that his knee lay between his enemies leg. Foul play was allowed in an alleyway fight, right?**

**Johnny's knee met its target and the man on top of him released his hold on the bar with a pained, choking sound.**

**Johnny rolled, grabbing the bar as he did so. The second man still lay groaning on the ground and holding his ribs.**

**There were two more. But his main enemy was waiting beyond the first man. The main prize. The reward for this little job. The kill.**

**The man came towards him, telling him how he would pay for attacking him. But it was over in a flash. The pipe hit his temple and sent him sprawling in a shower of blood. He made no noise this time but he did move slightly. That wasn't his first kill. He wasn't dead. But Johnny didn't care. That one wasn't the goal.**

**His enemy turned to face him. The pipe slipped from Johnny's fingers and clanged on the floor. There was a flash of lightning and in that flash, Johnny pounced, throwing his enemy down. Johnny's hands had found their way around the man's neck, clutching tighter with every pump of blood through the mans dying body. These beats slowed. His enemy's life was slipping slowly away. It was glorious.**

**Another clap of thunder and short burst of lighting marked the end of that man's life... And the start of Johnny's.**


	3. 3 - Someone to stop me

**3 - "Someone to stop me..."**

**Johnny had no real purpose. He'd got himself locked up in a mega prison for God's sake, which idiot does that on purpose. Well, the answer to that would be, "Someone with a plan".**

**Johnny wasn't planning domination of Arkham. He wasn't plotting to murder anyone in particular. He wasn't even trying to create chaos on a large enough scale to affect the outside world of Gotham.**

**All Johnny wanted was to be noticed for his... Talents.**

**He had to do something that would lure the big fish. Not the police, or even what would have been the Tyger guards if they weren't put out of commission by the Big fish itself.**

**Yes, the prize was amazing. Magnificent.**

**And here it came, swooping down to meet him.**

**The world's greatest detective had arrived.**

**Batman crashed through the door to the abandoned club. Without saying a word he proceeded to the next room where the rusty poles stood for the dancers. The bar was empty of any drink. There was only broken bottles and splintered wood. Batman walked straight down to the basement beneath the club. This was where it all came together. The door handle was centimetres away from Batman's hand. He had nearly grabbed it. But what was he doing?**

**Wasn't he going to check what was on the other side? Was he about to make a MISTAKE?**

**No! If he opened that door the bomb would go off. All those people would die and it would be all Batman's fault! No... All Johnny's fault.**

**Batman's gloved hand closed around the handle. It was all over...**

**It had only been a few hours earlier that Johnny had collected the final pieces to the plan. And by that he meant capturing victims.**

**Of course the plan was that they weren't going to be victims. They weren't meant to die.**

**He'd found them helpless in back alleys. Johnny had observed how Batman had saved the political prisoners from the other threatening inmates. How he'd told them to hide and keep safe.**

**How they'd scrambled round corners and hidden in boxes and behind bins, just asking to be snatched up.**

**These people were innocent. They had been thrown in Arkham city because Hugo Strange had ordered them to be. Because they opposed him. They had committed no crime and so they were the perfect victims.**

**Batman did not kill and would not let anyone die, even his worst enemy... But even if he did, there was no chance he would leave innocent people to be killed.**

**The first was in a cut behind the Ace Chemicals building nearby. He tried to scream as Johnny grabbed him but he was out cold in a moment. Johnny dragged him back to the club silently and tied him to a chair in the basement.**

**Next was a inmate who looked dead, but as it turned out, was actually asleep! He was grabbed swiftly too and chained to the wall with an active bomb attached to a tripwire on the door strapped to his chest.**

**The third victim was harder to acquire. In fact, the plan was nearly ruined!**

**The prisoner held a pipe in his hand, reminding Johnny of his first kill.**

**This man looked alert so Johnny tried the stealthy approach. It failed quite laughably but the pipe did not meet its target. Johnny ducked under it and tackled the prisoner to the ground. An attempt to silence the man's screams failed similarly and through the cries, Johnny spotted the caped crusader glide overhead. He'd soon be upon him.**

**Johnny hit the man hard in the head and dragged him into the shadows behind some bins and boxes.**

**In his illustrious manner, Batman swooped and landed, scanning the area quickly. Something flicked over the detective's eyes and he observed his surroundings. Thermal vision!**

**Johnny backed off out of Batman's sight and crept away from the alley.**

**The man over his shoulder moaned and there was a movement behind him.**

**Johnny ran, prisoner still hoisted over his shoulder and bolted through alley after alley before he reached the club. The Solomon Wayne Courthouse stood still smouldered after the effects of Strange's 'Protocol 10' across the road.**

**It was a narrow escape and Johnny's plans were nearly ruined. But he'd done it. He'd escaped the scene. And all was well.**

**Johnny thrust his victim beneath some weak wooden boards in the basement which covered a small ditch in the ground.**

**The plan was still working well.**

**Now, all that was left to do was wait...**

**Johnny almost screamed. From his spot in the security room with all the screens showing the views of the CCTV in the building, Johnny saw Batman stop as his hand closed around the door handle and quickly remove it. Johnny sighed with relief.**

**The plan was intact.**

**The Detective flicked on his thermal and looked through the door, scanning the area. He then flicked it off and looked up to a ventilation shaft above him. It led round to the other side of the room. Pulling off the vent cover, Batman leapt up through the passage and climbed through the shaft.**

**Once at the other side, the detective smashed through the vent cover there and observed his surroundings. Going for the chained man with the bomb first, he examined the explosive then took out a strange gadget. A sonic disruptor?**

**The bomb was deactivated in seconds.**

**Johnny realised this was going too well for the bat. There needed to be more obstacles. He pressed a button from the control room and a phone began to ring. Batman looked around. Following the sound, he reached the weak wood. An explosive gel deployment Would no doubt kill the man beneath so Batman simply thrust his hand through the wood and hauled the man out from inside. The phone was ringing still and after checking the man's pockets, he found nothing.**

**Come on Batman! Think!**

**He removed the man's jacket and lifted up his shirt to reveal the phone strapped the the man's chest with gaffer tape. A wire led from this phone to something on the man's back.**

**Reaching round, batman found the mechanism. Johnny had built it himself. If Batman answered the phone then the spikes on the machine would close in and crush the man's spine and internal organs. But the phone had begun to beep now. Gradually speeding up.**

**Batman's face flickered with panic for a moment then he did it.**

**Grabbing the phone, Batman hung up on the call, this deactivated the bomb and reversed the mechanism. It dropped from the man's back and crashed on the floor.**

**Very good. But WAY too easy.**

**Another button pressed on the panel in front of Johnny deployed into the room horrid, green gas, and poisonous too. Batman turned, alarmed then grabbed the man with the phone, tore the chained one from the wall, then cut the ropes of the man in the chair with two thrown Batarang.**

**All three were safe but Johnny had ran down to the door. The final test.**

**Batman kicked at it but the door would not open.**

**Turning, Batman ran over to the other wall – the has was filling the room – the sprinted straight back again, crashing through the door with a firm shoulder. After that, the detective grabbed all three prisoners and hauled them from the scene.**

**They were safe but the culprit had yet to be found. Johnny had the gun in his hand. He raised it towards Batman. The aim was perfect and the shot potentially lethal.**

**The detective didn't turn. This kill was too easy. Batman needed to turn at the last minute and stop him. But Batman just proceeded to talk to the prisoners about safety.**

**Then it dawned on Johnny. All this time he wanted recognition. He wanted to be noticed by The World's Greatest Detective. He wanted to be the villain he stopped and saved the day in defeating.**

**But now he had the perfect shot. The means to end Batman and get the recognition and respect he deserved. He'd be a God among criminals. He'd be the man who killed the bat!**

**The trigger pulled and Johnny jumped back. The detective fell with a grunt then lay still. Was he dead? Johnny couldn't tell. And he couldn't really think over the screams of the other prisoners.**

**"SHUT UP!" He yelled and they whimpered into silence.**

**Johnny walked over to where the bat lay unmoving. He half sighed half laughed and lowered the gun. The others trembled before him.**

**Now... This was glorious!**

**Smiling with triumph, Johnny Verghese headed for the door. The body of Batman lay on his floor and he was the one to cause it. Two face's men were outside the courthouse. They were there to see it for themselves! Yes! Johnny would be the hero of all villains. The man who stopped the great Batman!**

**He turned to see his defeated foe another time but his eyes fell upon only three political prisoners. The room was empty besides. What?!**

**A kick from behind sent Johnny sprawling over a desk and down the steps again to the basement door, where the gas still leaked from.**

**He groaned. Perhaps he should have checked properly before assuming he'd killed the famous Batman in one shot.**

**A gloved hand closed around Johnny's neck and lifted him up. He was thrown onto the steps and dragged up to ground level. Then, Batman threw him against the same desk he'd toppled over moments ago.**

**"Who are you?" The detective demanded.**

**"I don't really know anymore..." Came the reply.**

**"What's your name?" Batman said in a gruff voice.**

**"Johnny... Verghese..."**

**"You're Johnny Verghese?" The bat sounded surprised.**

**"You've heard of me?"**

**"You killed eight people in a nightclub twelve months ago. Yes, I've heard of you."**

**"Really?" Johnny couldn't hide his smile, " Well, I'm honoured! All this time I've wanted you to recognise me as more than just a petty criminal and you heard of me a year ago? Well... This changes a lot! I probably didn't even have to get myself locked up in this hell hole in the first place!"**

**"What are you talking about?"**

**"Why do you think I captured three innocent people and threw them into a death trap, Batman?"**

**"You did all this so you could be noticed?"**

**"That's part of it. But the real question is, 'why did I want to be recognised in the first place?' Well, you see, as a child, my parents neglected me. They didn't beat me or scold me or even glance at me if I tried to speak. I was never any good at school. My parents were always being called into school to talk to my teachers. And since that was the only way they ever even acknowledged i was there, I began to do it more and more. Craving for their attention overpowered me. I was thrown out of three schools for behavioural issues all because they wouldn't LOVE ME!**

**"In the end I realised they would never love me and ran away." Batman's expression didn't budge. "Living on the streets for months took its toll on me. But I got wise. And by that I don't mean I got a job, I mean I discovered the brilliance of theft! My life of crime has lasted ever since but, well, I wasn't exceptionally good at the whole thing. At least... Not all of it.**

**"You see, I've only ever been good at one thing, Batman. Killing. And I think a bit of recognition would be nice so I decided it would be my goal to be a famous murderer. Known all over Gotham!**

**"But that isn't everything. The biggest thrill you can get from being bad isn't vengeance or death, although that is pretty fun too! It's justice."**

**"Justice?"**

**"Yes, Batman. The defeat. The apprehension after committing the crime. The good versus evil, even if you are the evil one. I get a real kick out of being kicked... You understand me Batman?"**

**"Why this? Why attempt to kill these people? Why kill me if you want to be defeated?"**

**"The thrill of the chase Batman. The victory if evil and the rush of triumph, then justice gets into play and I'm finally stopped... That's it... You want to know why I do this... Why I did something exclusively solvable by you?"**

**There was a pause as the detective stared at Johnny.**

**"...It's all I ever wanted. The final prize higher than just killing... Not the glory or triumph or victory... All I ever wanted was someone to stop me. And that's the legacy I leave in your hands detective."**

**Batman's face was a mix of emotions. Anger, annoyance, a hint of pity then a brick wall of calm.**

**Johnny smiled and the fist came for his face. By now a trail of green gas had found its way up the stairs and with a final flick if his wrist, Johnny knocked an ancient glass gas lamp he'd lit off the desk and watched as it crashed into flames, lighting the gas around them. Then everything went black.**

**When Johnny woke, there was no calm sky or any sign of a moon. Only smoke and fire. But he was outside. He knew it. With a groan, Johnny sat up and hauled himself to his feet. His jump suit was black as ash and his hair singed. He stumbled over to the burning building ahead of him and looked through the windows. He could see only fire. But if he'd managed to end up outside, surely batman would have.**

**But as he turned the corner he spotted the sight of a charred body lying in the snow. As he looked closer, Johnny could tell it had belonged to one of the others.**

**The neon sign in the club was no longer lit. Although technically it was on fire.**

**Johnny fled the scene without any further examination. It was over. He'd proved his point and batman had stopped him. But not in every way. People had died and Johnny was still free. The courthouse was ahead. Two face's crew stood outside, in awe of the scene. And apparently at Johnny. He smiled.**

**He was about to make a remark about Batman overstaying his welcome in Arkham City when he was grabbed from behind and thrown down onto the ground. Two face's thugs ran over and began attacking Batman.**

**Johnny watched as one by one, Batman took them out. Not one of them even got the chance to hit him. Once the last one was down, the detective walked over to Johnny. It reminded him if when he'd taken out the three men and then gone for his first victim all those years ago.**

**Batman grabbed him and lifted him up.**

**"They're dead because of you!" Batman roared.**

**"Should I be sorry...?"**

**"You'll pay for that."**

**"You're not going to kill me are you...?"**

**"I probably should."**

**"Oh really?"**

**"But Prison is where you belong. Whether it's here in Arkham City or in a cell in Blackgate." Batman threw him down.**

**Johnny just lay there.**

**"I know Batman... They say never meet your idols... And today I stand by it. You really are a disappointment Batman. In the end, you couldn't stop the one person who wanted you to... That's irony I suppose..."**

**Batman didn't say a word and left him. Johnny got up and with nowhere else to go, wandered to an alley way in his charred jumpsuit and sat behind some bins and boxes... Looking on at his work...**

**Another day to be remembered.**

**4 - Paying your respects**

**Batman stood in crime alley where a bunch if dying flowers lay on the outlines of a crime scene. He remembered the night of his parents' death and how it sparked the flame that was now Batman. How this part of him wouldn't even be, without that fateful night.**

**Paying his respects, Batman left the scene and grappled up to a tall building. There was still work to be done in Arkham City. The past few hours proved that... From the height, he spotted a man in a charred jumpsuit sitting in an alleyway. He considered the irony of the situation Verghese had pointed out... But there was no time to think like that. Although he'd failed to save the people in the building, he had realised something very true about the life of Batman... A truth which was also pointed out by Verghese.**

**What just happened didn't happen often. Before that, Batman probably couldn't remember the last time he ever really failed to stop the bad guy and save the day. But then again... That's what he was here for. And what had happened in that past hour could not ever happen again. He would make sure of it.**

**He touched wood that he would still be able to stop his enemies and save Gotham, though the Great Batman was never one for he realise the wood he had touched was weak in its frame. He sprayed explosive gel over it and stepped back before detonating it.**

**Inside lay a familiar, small green question mark mounted on a metal stand. **

**Riddler was in Arkham City.**

**3 - "Someone to stop me..."**

**Johnny had no real purpose. He'd got himself locked up in a mega prison for God's sake, which idiot does that on purpose. Well, the answer to that would be, "Someone with a plan".**

**Johnny wasn't planning domination of Arkham. He wasn't plotting to murder anyone in particular. He wasn't even trying to create chaos on a large enough scale to affect the outside world of Gotham.**

**All Johnny wanted was to be noticed for his... Talents.**

**He had to do something that would lure the big fish. Not the police, or even what would have been the Tyger guards if they weren't put out of commission by the Big fish itself.**

**Yes, the prize was amazing. Magnificent.**

**And here it came, swooping down to meet him.**

**The world's greatest detective had arrived.**

**Batman crashed through the door to the abandoned club. Without saying a word he proceeded to the next room where the rusty poles stood for the dancers. The bar was empty of any drink. There was only broken bottles and splintered wood. Batman walked straight down to the basement beneath the club. This was where it all came together. The door handle was centimetres away from Batman's hand. He had nearly grabbed it. But what was he doing?**

**Wasn't he going to check what was on the other side? Was he about to make a MISTAKE?**

**No! If he opened that door the bomb would go off. All those people would die and it would be all Batman's fault! No... All Johnny's fault.**

**Batman's gloved hand closed around the handle. It was all over...**

**It had only been a few hours earlier that Johnny had collected the final pieces to the plan. And by that he meant capturing victims.**

**Of course the plan was that they weren't going to be victims. They weren't meant to die.**

**He'd found them helpless in back alleys. Johnny had observed how Batman had saved the political prisoners from the other threatening inmates. How he'd told them to hide and keep safe.**

**How they'd scrambled round corners and hidden in boxes and behind bins, just asking to be snatched up.**

**These people were innocent. They had been thrown in Arkham city because Hugo Strange had ordered them to be. Because they opposed him. They had committed no crime and so they were the perfect victims.**

**Batman did not kill and would not let anyone die, even his worst enemy... But even if he did, there was no chance he would leave innocent people to be killed.**

**The first was in a cut behind the Ace Chemicals building nearby. He tried to scream as Johnny grabbed him but he was out cold in a moment. Johnny dragged him back to the club silently and tied him to a chair in the basement.**

**Next was a inmate who looked dead, but as it turned out, was actually asleep! He was grabbed swiftly too and chained to the wall with an active bomb attached to a tripwire on the door strapped to his chest.**

**The third victim was harder to acquire. In fact, the plan was nearly ruined!**

**The prisoner held a pipe in his hand, reminding Johnny of his first kill.**

**This man looked alert so Johnny tried the stealthy approach. It failed quite laughably but the pipe did not meet its target. Johnny ducked under it and tackled the prisoner to the ground. An attempt to silence the man's screams failed similarly and through the cries, Johnny spotted the caped crusader glide overhead. He'd soon be upon him.**

**Johnny hit the man hard in the head and dragged him into the shadows behind some bins and boxes.**

**In his illustrious manner, Batman swooped and landed, scanning the area quickly. Something flicked over the detective's eyes and he observed his surroundings. Thermal vision!**

**Johnny backed off out of Batman's sight and crept away from the alley.**

**The man over his shoulder moaned and there was a movement behind him.**

**Johnny ran, prisoner still hoisted over his shoulder and bolted through alley after alley before he reached the club. The Solomon Wayne Courthouse stood still smouldered after the effects of Strange's 'Protocol 10' across the road.**

**It was a narrow escape and Johnny's plans were nearly ruined. But he'd done it. He'd escaped the scene. And all was well.**

**Johnny thrust his victim beneath some weak wooden boards in the basement which covered a small ditch in the ground.**

**The plan was still working well.**

**Now, all that was left to do was wait...**

**Johnny almost screamed. From his spot in the security room with all the screens showing the views of the CCTV in the building, Johnny saw Batman stop as his hand closed around the door handle and quickly remove it. Johnny sighed with relief.**

**The plan was intact.**

**The Detective flicked on his thermal and looked through the door, scanning the area. He then flicked it off and looked up to a ventilation shaft above him. It led round to the other side of the room. Pulling off the vent cover, Batman leapt up through the passage and climbed through the shaft.**

**Once at the other side, the detective smashed through the vent cover there and observed his surroundings. Going for the chained man with the bomb first, he examined the explosive then took out a strange gadget. A sonic disruptor?**

**The bomb was deactivated in seconds.**

**Johnny realised this was going too well for the bat. There needed to be more obstacles. He pressed a button from the control room and a phone began to ring. Batman looked around. Following the sound, he reached the weak wood. An explosive gel deployment Would no doubt kill the man beneath so Batman simply thrust his hand through the wood and hauled the man out from inside. The phone was ringing still and after checking the man's pockets, he found nothing.**

**Come on Batman! Think!**

**He removed the man's jacket and lifted up his shirt to reveal the phone strapped the the man's chest with gaffer tape. A wire led from this phone to something on the man's back.**

**Reaching round, batman found the mechanism. Johnny had built it himself. If Batman answered the phone then the spikes on the machine would close in and crush the man's spine and internal organs. But the phone had begun to beep now. Gradually speeding up.**

**Batman's face flickered with panic for a moment then he did it.**

**Grabbing the phone, Batman hung up on the call, this deactivated the bomb and reversed the mechanism. It dropped from the man's back and crashed on the floor.**

**Very good. But WAY too easy.**

**Another button pressed on the panel in front of Johnny deployed into the room horrid, green gas, and poisonous too. Batman turned, alarmed then grabbed the man with the phone, tore the chained one from the wall, then cut the ropes of the man in the chair with two thrown Batarang.**

**All three were safe but Johnny had ran down to the door. The final test.**

**Batman kicked at it but the door would not open.**

**Turning, Batman ran over to the other wall – the has was filling the room – the sprinted straight back again, crashing through the door with a firm shoulder. After that, the detective grabbed all three prisoners and hauled them from the scene.**

**They were safe but the culprit had yet to be found. Johnny had the gun in his hand. He raised it towards Batman. The aim was perfect and the shot potentially lethal.**

**The detective didn't turn. This kill was too easy. Batman needed to turn at the last minute and stop him. But Batman just proceeded to talk to the prisoners about safety.**

**Then it dawned on Johnny. All this time he wanted recognition. He wanted to be noticed by The World's Greatest Detective. He wanted to be the villain he stopped and saved the day in defeating.**

**But now he had the perfect shot. The means to end Batman and get the recognition and respect he deserved. He'd be a God among criminals. He'd be the man who killed the bat!**

**The trigger pulled and Johnny jumped back. The detective fell with a grunt then lay still. Was he dead? Johnny couldn't tell. And he couldn't really think over the screams of the other prisoners.**

**"SHUT UP!" He yelled and they whimpered into silence.**

**Johnny walked over to where the bat lay unmoving. He half sighed half laughed and lowered the gun. The others trembled before him.**

**Now... This was glorious!**

**Smiling with triumph, Johnny Verghese headed for the door. The body of Batman lay on his floor and he was the one to cause it. Two face's men were outside the courthouse. They were there to see it for themselves! Yes! Johnny would be the hero of all villains. The man who stopped the great Batman!**

**He turned to see his defeated foe another time but his eyes fell upon only three political prisoners. The room was empty besides. What?!**

**A kick from behind sent Johnny sprawling over a desk and down the steps again to the basement door, where the gas still leaked from.**

**He groaned. Perhaps he should have checked properly before assuming he'd killed the famous Batman in one shot.**

**A gloved hand closed around Johnny's neck and lifted him up. He was thrown onto the steps and dragged up to ground level. Then, Batman threw him against the same desk he'd toppled over moments ago.**

**"Who are you?" The detective demanded.**

**"I don't really know anymore..." Came the reply.**

**"What's your name?" Batman said in a gruff voice.**

**"Johnny... Verghese..."**

**"You're Johnny Verghese?" The bat sounded surprised.**

**"You've heard of me?"**

**"You killed eight people in a nightclub twelve months ago. Yes, I've heard of you."**

**"Really?" Johnny couldn't hide his smile, " Well, I'm honoured! All this time I've wanted you to recognise me as more than just a petty criminal and you heard of me a year ago? Well... This changes a lot! I probably didn't even have to get myself locked up in this hell hole in the first place!"**

**"What are you talking about?"**

**"Why do you think I captured three innocent people and threw them into a death trap, Batman?"**

**"You did all this so you could be noticed?"**

**"That's part of it. But the real question is, 'why did I want to be recognised in the first place?' Well, you see, as a child, my parents neglected me. They didn't beat me or scold me or even glance at me if I tried to speak. I was never any good at school. My parents were always being called into school to talk to my teachers. And since that was the only way they ever even acknowledged i was there, I began to do it more and more. Craving for their attention overpowered me. I was thrown out of three schools for behavioural issues all because they wouldn't LOVE ME!**

**"In the end I realised they would never love me and ran away." Batman's expression didn't budge. "Living on the streets for months took its toll on me. But I got wise. And by that I don't mean I got a job, I mean I discovered the brilliance of theft! My life of crime has lasted ever since but, well, I wasn't exceptionally good at the whole thing. At least... Not all of it.**

**"You see, I've only ever been good at one thing, Batman. Killing. And I think a bit of recognition would be nice so I decided it would be my goal to be a famous murderer. Known all over Gotham!**

**"But that isn't everything. The biggest thrill you can get from being bad isn't vengeance or death, although that is pretty fun too! It's justice."**

**"Justice?"**

**"Yes, Batman. The defeat. The apprehension after committing the crime. The good versus evil, even if you are the evil one. I get a real kick out of being kicked... You understand me Batman?"**

**"Why this? Why attempt to kill these people? Why kill me if you want to be defeated?"**

**"The thrill of the chase Batman. The victory if evil and the rush of triumph, then justice gets into play and I'm finally stopped... That's it... You want to know why I do this... Why I did something exclusively solvable by you?"**

**There was a pause as the detective stared at Johnny.**

**"...It's all I ever wanted. The final prize higher than just killing... Not the glory or triumph or victory... All I ever wanted was someone to stop me. And that's the legacy I leave in your hands detective."**

**Batman's face was a mix of emotions. Anger, annoyance, a hint of pity then a brick wall of calm.**

**Johnny smiled and the fist came for his face. By now a trail of green gas had found its way up the stairs and with a final flick if his wrist, Johnny knocked an ancient glass gas lamp he'd lit off the desk and watched as it crashed into flames, lighting the gas around them. Then everything went black.**

**When Johnny woke, there was no calm sky or any sign of a moon. Only smoke and fire. But he was outside. He knew it. With a groan, Johnny sat up and hauled himself to his feet. His jump suit was black as ash and his hair singed. He stumbled over to the burning building ahead of him and looked through the windows. He could see only fire. But if he'd managed to end up outside, surely batman would have.**

**But as he turned the corner he spotted the sight of a charred body lying in the snow. As he looked closer, Johnny could tell it had belonged to one of the others.**

**The neon sign in the club was no longer lit. Although technically it was on fire.**

**Johnny fled the scene without any further examination. It was over. He'd proved his point and batman had stopped him. But not in every way. People had died and Johnny was still free. The courthouse was ahead. Two face's crew stood outside, in awe of the scene. And apparently at Johnny. He smiled.**

**He was about to make a remark about Batman overstaying his welcome in Arkham City when he was grabbed from behind and thrown down onto the ground. Two face's thugs ran over and began attacking Batman.**

**Johnny watched as one by one, Batman took them out. Not one of them even got the chance to hit him. Once the last one was down, the detective walked over to Johnny. It reminded him if when he'd taken out the three men and then gone for his first victim all those years ago.**

**Batman grabbed him and lifted him up.**

**"They're dead because of you!" Batman roared.**

**"Should I be sorry...?"**

**"You'll pay for that."**

**"You're not going to kill me are you...?"**

**"I probably should."**

**"Oh really?"**

**"But Prison is where you belong. Whether it's here in Arkham City or in a cell in Blackgate." Batman threw him down.**

**Johnny just lay there.**

**"I know Batman... They say never meet your idols... And today I stand by it. You really are a disappointment Batman. In the end, you couldn't stop the one person who wanted you to... That's irony I suppose..."**

**Batman didn't say a word and left him. Johnny got up and with nowhere else to go, wandered to an alley way in his charred jumpsuit and sat behind some bins and boxes... Looking on at his work...**

**Another day to be remembered.**

**4 - Paying your respects**

**Batman stood in crime alley where a bunch if dying flowers lay on the outlines of a crime scene. He remembered the night of his parents' death and how it sparked the flame that was now Batman. How this part of him wouldn't even be, without that fateful night.**

**Paying his respects, Batman left the scene and grappled up to a tall building. There was still work to be done in Arkham City. The past few hours proved that... From the height, he spotted a man in a charred jumpsuit sitting in an alleyway. He considered the irony of the situation Verghese had pointed out... But there was no time to think like that. Although he'd failed to save the people in the building, he had realised something very true about the life of Batman... A truth which was also pointed out by Verghese.**

**What just happened didn't happen often. Before that, Batman probably couldn't remember the last time he ever really failed to stop the bad guy and save the day. But then again... That's what he was here for. And what had happened in that past hour could not ever happen again. He would make sure of it.**

**He touched wood that he would still be able to stop his enemies and save Gotham, though the Great Batman was never one for he realise the wood he had touched was weak in its frame. He sprayed explosive gel over it and stepped back before detonating it.**

**Inside lay a familiar, small green question mark mounted on a metal stand. **

**Riddler was in Arkham City.**


End file.
